J

HERE’S TO BEN

acintha

There are few voices so perfect that they seem suited to any type of music.Jacintha has such a voice.

The Singapore-based vocalistis already known in herhomeland as an actressand popular recordingartist. Now she broadensthat reputation with thisrecording, Here’s To Ben,in which she’s joined by a

quartet of top-ranked jazzmusicians for a look atsongs associated with thelate saxophonist Ben Webster. It’s quite achange for an artist whoselast recording coveredtunes from Sting, Lennon& McCartney, Stevie Wonder and others. But, in truth, it’s a return to themusic she grew up loving.

Jacintha - Here’s To Ben

“Ben Webster and I seem to have nothing incommon save that I somehow grew upsinging these songs in Singapore, knowing and loving them,” Jacintha says.“Ultimately, jazz is where I live. It’s likehome to me. I always loved to sing jazz, but as a recording artist, I’ve been given few opportunities to do so.”

Here’s To Ben is that opportunity. It’s a collec-tion of classic jazz standards – ”Star Dust,”“Tenderly,” Georgia On My Mind” – thathave been interpreted by a host of jazzartists, including Webster over the years.Joining Jacintha on the recording is a superquartet of U.S. musicians: former MilesDavis keyboardist Kei Akagi, legendaryWest Coast saxophonist Teddy Edwards,Larance Marable, the drummer heard withCharlie Haden’s Quartet West and bassistDarek Oles, who’s played with everyonefrom Ravi Coltrane to Lee Konitz. The resultof this cross-cultural, cross generationalproject is a recording that marks the emer-gence of a distinct new voice in jazz.

Jacintha comes from the proverbial musical family. Her Chinese mother sang and playedthe piano. Her Indian father was a classicallytrained guitarist and acoustic bassist whotaught music and exposed her to such artistsas Wes Montgomery, Laurindo Almeida andMiriam Makeba. Her brother plays the cornet.

She won a local talent contest singing jazzwhen she was 17. Beginning in 1981, she’splayed a variety of dramatic and musicalroles on the Singapore stage and she continues to be in demand for theater andtelevision appearances. Her debut album, atechno-pop date titled Silence, was releasedin 1983. She followed with a collection ofSpanish songs Tropicana in 1987 and, in1991, released Dramamama followed by asubsequent tour of Japan. Her last album,My Life, came out in 1997.

Jacintha has appeared at a number of interna-tional music festivals including the Los Angeles Pop Song Festival and won the BestPerformer awards in the 1987 ASEAN PopSong Festival. In 1987, she performed in Singapore with the New York Philharmonicconducted by Zubin Mehta and has also sungwith the Danish Radio Orchestra on a visit toDenmark. She was the special guest of well-known Japanese trumpeter Terumasa Hinoduring a 1991 tour of his homeland and for asecond time in 1996.

All this experience has well-prepared Jacinthafor the kind of expression required to singjazz. It also explains why she fits in so wellwith the jazz artists heard with her on thisalbum, even though they had not previouslyworked together. Listen to the way she

glides through the swinging version of “OurLove Is Here To Stay” or her unaccompanied introduction to “Danny Boy” (which was coincidentally recorded on St. Patrick’s Day)and you’ll see the truth of it immediately.

“If you’re in the moment and focused on youremotions, something comes through. Thesesongs have been sung by a thousand voices.The one thing I wanted to bring to them isfeeling.“

This appeal to emotion is Jacintha’s most directconnection to Webster. Like the saxophonist,she has an uncanny ability to bring feelingand drama to her music. “When I listen toWebster’s work, I hear all its discipline andrestraint, yet it’s expressed with full emotion.It’s what the great jazz musicans do all thetime, create a marriage between their technique and their emotions.”

Proof that Jacintha has made that marriage forherself is abundantly evident on this record-ing, as well as in the reaction of her sidemento her performance. Pianist Akagi, whose re-sume includes stints with Davis, saxophonistStanley Turrentine, flutist, new-music com-poser James Newton, percussionist Airto andguitarist Al DiMeola (not to mention a hand-ful of fine recordings under his own name),marveled at her abilities. “She’s a fantasticsinger and a joy to work with,” he asserts(Akagi arranged all the material on thisalbum). “She’s going to be a major talent.”

Saxophonist Edwards, a man who once workedwith the great Billie Holiday, was also impressed. “Billie once told me that her favorite saxophonists were Lester Young, Charlie Parker and me, in that order,” he

says proudly. “My job is to knit my soundaround the singer, to enhance what thesinger is doing, but to stay out of the way.”

“Jacintha can surprise you with that beautifulsound,” Edwards continues. “And she hasunusual stamina. Singing ballads is hard, itcan really drain you. But (during the record-ing session) she sounded as good at the endof the day as she did at the beginning. She’sgoing to create a big sensation.”

The session, conducted over two days at OceanWay Studios on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywoodwas a particularly relaxed affair. An array ofcandles scattered around the room made fora mellow mood and the performers had notrouble finding common ground. DrummerMarable, whose many credits over a longcareer include Stan Getz, Chet Baker, ZootSims, Wes Montgomery and Dexter Gordon,showed his adeptness at adding percussivecolor and shading with both sticks andbrushes. Bassist Oles created a firm founda-tion over which the singer and the instru-mentalists could soar. Edwards wove hissoulful sound in and out of the proceedings.

“I really felt safe in the best possible way withthese musicians,” Jacintha explains. “I feltlooked after. They understood what I wasgoing for and didn’t hold back any of theiremotional qualities. And it was great to hangout with them, to hear Teddy talking aboutBen and Stan Getz and Billie Holiday, to getthat oral history of jazz.”

As great as its accompanists are, the biggest im-pression left on hearing the recording isJacintha’s. Her voice can be warm, delicateand sophisticated (“How Long Has This Been

Going On?”), or filled with melancholy (“Inthe Wee Small Hours Of the Morning”) Onehears joy, yearning; the drop of a tear. Herphrasing is smooth and intelligent. She does-n’t overstylize her presentation, but insteadlets her clear tones and ennunciation carrythe lyric. That emphasis on words makes hera storyteller of sorts, something comple-mented by her theatrical background.

She’s tried to listen – and learn – from as manysingers as possible and admits to studyingeveryone from Shirley Horn and CassandraWilson to Karen Carpenter. Her intent herewas not to imitate Webster’s versions of thetunes. “That would be assuming too much.I didn’t try to copy anything that he did. AllI could do was listen and hope that some ofhis warmth, some of his emotion wouldcarry over.”

The selections give Jacintha the chance to dojust that “These are songs of memory,loaded with the light, the conversation, thesmells that our memories carry,” she says,“remembered in fragments, drenched inlonging. They contain the life of one jazzman who played his truth as he felt it.”

Recorded direct to 2-track, these sessions havethe quality of a live performance; they pos-sess an ambiance that transcends the sterileperfection of many (most) studio record-ings. They bring you closer to the musicalideas being presented by the performersand into the heart of the songs. Listening toJacintha, you will feel the same way too.

Bill Kohlhaase

Producer: Joe Harley

Co-Producer: Ying Tan

Executive Producers: Ying Tan and Sebastian Koh

Engineer: Michael C. Ross

Assistant Engineer: John Sorenson

Mastering: Bernie Grundman, Bernie Grundman Mastering, Hollywood

Album Photography: Joseph D’Alessio

Jacintha Hair & Make-Up: Barbara Leister

Graphic Design: Kathleen Blakistone

Liner Notes: Bill Kohlhaase

Jacintha Management: Springroll Creative Entertainment Agency(Singapore)

VOCALS: Jacintha

TENOR SAXOPHONE:Teddy Edwards

PIANO:Kei Akagi

BASS:Darek Oles

DRUMS:Larance Marable

• GRV1001-3P & C 1998 Groove Note Records • Groove Note Records is ownedby Analogue Archive Pte. Ltd. SingaporeManufactured and distributedby Groove Nation Records under license from Analogue Archive Pte.Ltd. All rights reserved. Duplication is prohibited by law.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:Adam Roper, Stevie Wonder and all thewonderful folks at Wonderland, Ruzitaand Jimmy Wee at Spr ingroll, Lim KayTong for the loan of all his Ben WebsterCDs, Claris at Ocean Way, Steve Gerard,Boon and Fred Church.

TECHNICAL INFO This recording is all-analogue, live to 2-track direct. The recording was madeon an ATR-100 tape machine withBASF-900 1/4 in. high resolution taperunning at 30 ips. A vintage NeumannM-49 tube microphone was set-up forJacintha’s voice and the recording andmastering cabling for this session wassupplied by Audioquest.

FOR FURTHER INFOPLEASE CONTACTYing Tan, Analogue Archive Pte. Ltd.(Singapore):Phone/Fax: (65) 468-6673E-mail: yingjtan@pacific.net.sg

IN USA CONTACTGroove Nation, Los Angeles, US marketing and sales:Phone/Fax: (213) 467-1333E-mail:groovenation@earthlink.net